Meet the team

Rohini Bajekal (MA Oxon, MSc Nutrition and Food Sciences, Dip IBLM) is a nutritionist and board-certified Lifestyle Medicine professional. Prior to becoming a nutritionist, she studied Theology at Oxford University. Having previously worked in India and Singapore, Rohini is based in London and provides evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle advice and group programmes to her clients around the world. She is the Communications Lead at Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.

Rohini co-authored her first book Living PCOS Free: How to Regain Your Hormonal Health with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome which was published in April 2022. She also wrote the chapter on lifestyle medicine for the book How To Go Plant-Based: A Definitive Guide For You and Your Family by Ella Mills, founder of Deliciously Ella.

Rohini regularly comments in the media with a focus on myth-busting around nutrition. She has been featured in publications such as The Guardian, Refinery 29, SheerLuxe, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health. She has been following a plant-based diet for almost 20 years.

Sign up for her regular newsletters via www.rohinibajekal.com and follow her on Instagram @rohinibajekal for daily tips on healthy living. You can also reach her via email at  rohini@pbhp.uk.

Giovanna is a nurse practitioner who started her career in 2010 with BSc in Nursing in Italy. After gaining experience in the medical and surgical fields as well as mental health, she moved to the UK and joined the NHS in 2014 where she has mainly worked in cardiology, focusing on the care of patients with heart failure.

As a nurse she developed an interest in healthy lifestyles, integrating holistic and more sustainable practices into both her personal and professional life. She made the transition to a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle in 2020 and became a passionate advocate for plant-based nutrition, driven by concerns for human health, environmental sustainability and animal welfare.

In October 2023, following national shortlisting, she took part in the Green Healthcare Leadership Programme run by the Florence Nightingale Foundation Academy. She presented a sustainability quality improvement project to transition to a predominantly plant-based food system in hospitals while raising awareness and educating patients and colleagues about the benefits of a plant-based diet.

She founded a plant-based community at her local NHS hospital where she works; she is a member of the Nurses and Midwives Sustainability Network for NHS England and a proud member of Plant-based Health Professionals UK. She completed the Plant-based Nutrition course at the University of Winchester in May 2024, and she is currently studying to become certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Professional and Diplomate of the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM)

You can contact Giovanna via email at giovanna@pbhp.uk

Miriam qualified as a medical doctor in 1999. She trained in Paediatrics and Neonatal Medicine in Madrid, Spain. She first came to UK in 2008 to do a fellowship in Perinatal Neurology and Neurodevelopmental follow-up at Imperial College London. During that time she also finished her PhD in perinatal brain injury.
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Miriam works now as an Honorary Consultant Neonatologist & Research Fellow at Queen Charlotte’s and Hammersmith Hospitals. She specialises in the follow up of infants and young children who have been born prematurely, who have had neurological problems around the time of birth, or who are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairments. She also has a private practice in Spain as a neonatologist and developmental paediatrician.
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Miriam became a vegetarian when she was in medical school and has been vegan for the past 6 years. Although she became a vegan for ethical reasons, she also started to study the health benefits of plant-based diets, not only for adults but for children as well. Since 2013 she has had a blog where she promotes a whole food plant-based diet and counsels parents on how to provide good vegan food for their children. She is the author of a book on vegan nutrition for babies and children.

Michael Metoudi, RD, M.Sc. is a CORU-registered dietitian working in the research field whose sole passion lies in uncovering the continual health benefits that a plant-based diet can offer.

Michael holds a master in Molecular Medicine and has previously worked in the clinical trial space for Immunotherapy-related cancer treatments at King’s College London.

During this time  he found himself fortunate to be exposed to the emerging research into plant-based nutrition and the many benefits it can have in terms of human health. Attending the first conference of Plant-based health professionals UK back in 2018 spirited him into redirecting the course of his career path into clinical nutrition.

Recently graduated with a master in clinical nutrition and dietetics from University College Dublin, Michael now works in Dublin in nutrition research as well as in the clinic with clients of all ages,setting up health promotion classes as well as educating and helping individual clients  lead a more plant-based diet and lifestyle. His particular interests lie in nutrition and its role in cancer and the immune system.

Isabelle Sadler holds a BSc in Human Biology and words as a research assistant. She has been following a plant-based diet since the age of 16, originally for ethical reasons. While at university, she discovered Plant-Based Health Professionals UK and became fascinated by the extensive health benefits of a plant-based diet. Her involvement with PBHP UK began with volunteering which eventually led to her current role as a research assistant.

Her passion revolves around delving deeper into the benefits of plant-based diets and sharing the evidence with as many people as possible. Before this role, Isabelle worked as a science researcher and writer for a plant-based medical practice in the US.

Isabelle’s career aspirations lie in the field of Public Health, where she aims to promote the widespread adoption of healthy, sustainable diets and lifestyle practices, making these choices accessible to as many people as possible.

Clare has worked as an NHS GP in  a range of settings including community and prison healthcare, having qualified as a doctor in 2011. 

Prior to studying Graduate Medicine she studied Science Communication and Policy, joined the Civil Service and worked at HM Treasury as a Policy Advisor. 

She has been vegan for a number of years and is convinced of the benefits for long term health of eating whole food plant based. Explanations of how dietary change can help long term conditions is something she tries to put at the very centre of consultations with curious patients. She also does plant-based teaching for trainee GPs and colleagues. Like the rest of us she is learning everyday about food and health, and most importantly the barriers to change for individuals. With her podcast co-host GP Dr Daisy Lund, she hopes to bring on board more healthcare professionals and individuals to support patients in dietary change. 

Dr Daisy Lund is a practising GP with over 20 years’ experience of working in the NHS. She is a GP trainer and medical educator at Imperial College in London. 

Dr Lund has an interest in preventative medicine and holistic health and incorporates diet and lifestyle into her consultations. She has completed the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate at the University of Winchester and is passionate about nutrition education for health care professionals. Together with a GP colleague, Dr Claire Day, she co-hosts ‘In a Nutshell’ the Plant Based Health Professionals UK podcast.

Having been a great admirer of PBHP’s work since the organisations inception, Sarah is proud to join PBHP as Campaign Manager.

She is the founder of the UK’s first vegan community cookery school and charity Made In Hackney. During her twelve years collaboratively running the organisation over half a million people were inspired and upskilled to grow, cook and eat more plants. The charity formed pioneering partnerships with the NHS, public health Hackney, and NGO’s across the UK, being one of the first vegan collectives to work with such a diverse array of partners.

She oversaw the charities growth to include national influencing programme Plant Prospects which supports civic society and businesses to go more plant-based, and Global Plant Kitchens, a training course and mentoring scheme to accelerate a worldwide movement of plant-based community kitchens.

Her work won awards including Best Educator from Sustain, recognition for Inclusion by the Faith & Belief Council, and a nomination for Founder Of The Year at the global Vegan Women’s Summit. She sits on the advisory panel of The Freedom Food Alliance representing community & culture. Although no longer involved in the operational side, she is now an ambassador for Made In Hackney and has authored the charities debut 2025 release cook-book WE COOK PLANTS on Watkins Nourish imprint.

Sarah’s writing work and punditry covers the plant-based movement, food justice and community building for prominent media outlets, including The New York Times, The Observer, Evening Standard, Vogue, BBC Radio London, BBC World Service, Jamie Magazine, and Vegetarian Living. And received accolades from Hollywood actress Olivia Colman, chef campaigner Jamie Oliver, musician Paloma Faith and TV presenter and author Andi Oliver.

She teaches food growing to SEN students in Islington and in her leisure time loves to surf, grow food (she is a qualified permaculture designer, Level 2 organic gardener and celebrant), and going on adventures with her neurodiverse son.

LJ is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at King’s College Hospital London with special interests in Lung Cancer, airways disease and breathlessness. She also has expertise in sustainable healthcare and holds positions as the Clinical Lead for Sustainability at King’s College Hospital, and the British Thoracic Society Trustee for Sustainability.

LJ is motivated by supporting patients to thrive rather than just survive and is passionate about the potential for plant-powered diets to dramatically reduce health inequalities. She campaigns on a number of social justice issues with MedAct and is actively involved in campaigns to end the hostile environment for migrants in healthcare, and on the intersections of climate and health with a focus on Air Quality and housing.

LJ adopted a vegan approach to life in 2017, motivated by a wish to extend the compassion she brings to her clinical practice to other aspects of life. She sees veganism as part of a commitment to compassion and equality for humans, non-human animals and the planet. Since studying the transformative impact of a whole food plant based diet for health through the University of Winchester Plant-Based nutrition course, and a Diploma in Lifestyle Medicine she has committed to bringing the evidence to her patients and the NHS more widely.

Dr. David J.A. Jenkins is an University Professor, and Canada Research Chair, in the Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Medicines, a staff physician in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, , the Director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, and a Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital. He was educated at Oxford University, obtaining his DM, DPhil and DSc. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. He has served on committees in Canada and the United States that formulated nutritional guidelines for the treatment of diabetes and recommendations for fiber and macronutrient intake under the joint US-Canada DRI system (RDAs) of the National Academy of Sciences.

He also served as a member of Agriculture Canada’s Science Advisory Board (2004-2009) on the future direction of Canada’s agriculture and agricultural research. He has spent much time working with the food industry to develop products for the supermarket shelf and, for example, helped to initiate Loblaw’s ‘Too Good To Be True’ and most recently their popular “Blue Menu” line of products.

His research area is the use of diet in the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia and diabetes. He has over 300 original publications on these and related topics. His team was the first to define and explore the concept of the glycemic index of foods and demonstrate the breadth of metabolic effects of viscous soluble fiber, including blood glucose and cholesterol lowering. His group developed the cholesterol lowering concept of the dietary portfolio that has entered guidelines in many jurisdictions (e.g. CCS, Heart UK etc.).

He believes in the therapeutic value of plant based diets and that diets have to be environmentally sustainable.

Kim Williams serves as the Chief of the Division of Cardiology and is the James B. Herrick Endowed Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at Rush University Medical Center. He has served as the President of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC, 2004-2005), Chairman of the Board of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC, 2008-2010), and President of the American College of Cardiology (ACC, 2015- 2016).
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Prior to coming to Rush University, Dr. Williams was chairman of the division of cardiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, where he started the Urban Cardiology Initiative. This continued at Rush in Chicago, as he initiated the HEART Program (Helping Everyone Assess Risk Today) to screen churches and community groups for heart disease and stroke risk.
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Dr. Williams has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, monographs, book chapters, editorials, and review articles. He has served on many committees and boards for the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, ASNC, ACC and ABC.

Dr. Williams received his medical degree from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at Emory University and overlapping fellowships in cardiology at the University of Chicago in clinical pharmacology and nuclear medicine.